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Celebrity Reflection | May 27, 2013 - Eastern Mediterranean 11 Nights


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Hi Andy and John - This is our first Med cruise as well. I had wanted to go to Turkey and we also wanted to visit our friend in Netherlands on this trip as well, so we found a cruise we thought sounded nice and will carry on to Holland after. We will spend 2 nights in Venice prior. Our friend Johan who is joining us in Rome is the person we will be visiting in Holland too. Also, Reflection is a new ship!

 

We think it has a good balance of sea days and ports. We have already booked an excursion in Istanbul and Kusadasi with a gay tour operator. It's a private tour for just the three of us, with a gay/gay friendly guide. If you end up booking the cruise we could certainly entertain the idea of you joining us if we all figured we are compatible. I would just email the tour operator and ask.

 

You know Celebrity has the 123go promotion on right now. I think it expires tomorrow. We missed it for this cruise as we booked a year ago, but still got very good rates for our stateroom. We did book Hawaii cruise already for 2014 though under the 123go promo taking advantage of the beverage package.

 

To give you an idea of our demographic, lol, I am 44 and the youngest of our trio :D

 

Interested to hear what you end up doing!

 

Sean

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Hello Sean and Gregory

 

Thanks for your reponse. The 123Go promotion is what makes the trip worth it. Plus, there is a $310 OBC through our travel agent.

 

We typically sail in the Caribbean and on Princess, but I couldn't really find anything affordable for my spring break this year (I am in education.)

 

We are both 43 so right in line with you - although we are a pretty young 43 :)

 

We will be deciding soon as to whether we want to make the long trek to Europe.

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Hello - I responded to one of your posts in the main roll call discussion board.

 

Hi - Yes, gave all the details there. If you want more information about Istanbul and Kusadasi tours we have arranged let us know. We currently have a private tour set up for just the three of us through a gay travel agency at both ports, but if you two would like to join that would be fine.

 

We have nothing offical planned for Santorini or Mykonos. Might just enjoy the sights and the beach.

 

Let us know what you think!

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Thank you for the detailed information. We appreciate it and are considering what we want to do.

 

Have you had luck with getting a group together from the boards on other trips before? My concern is that we become part of a group that dissolves the closer we get to tour time, leaving each remaining person a larger share of the cost.

 

While we haven't decided for sure, we are leaning towards a ship excursion for Athens that spends 6.5 hours at the Acropolis with a guide and remaining time for exploration on our own. While including Corith would be nice, I don't know that I want to spend that long on the road. I understand that it would be a good 2 hours round trip which does cut down on exploration time.

 

We are thinking about doing Instanbul on our own since we are there so long. I've read others' accounts of their DIY explorations and it seems that much of the city is easily accessible.

 

As far as the Ephesus day, are you using 'Pride Travel'? I have to do more research to see what is important to see here.

 

For Naples, we want to see as much as possible. There isn't enough time! This will be the last day :( We want to see the Amalfi coast as well as Pompeii. I want to see some of the postcard towns like Postano and Amalfi. One nice thing about the ship excursion is that the Amalfi coast is explored by boat before going to Pompeii. I note that AP Tours also has group tours (with Pompeii guide) similar to the private one you described for 80 euro. I also like the idea of the ferry back to the ship.

 

For Mykonos, we will probably expore the town and maybe go to a beach - if I get into beach shape by then :eek:

 

We are staying in Rome for 5 more days after the cruise so we will still have more exploration to do and I don't want to get burnt out on history.

 

Thanks and hopefully we will be in touch once we get our things finalized. Please keep us up to date on the group arrangements if they change.

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You're going up have an amazing trip! The Med is my favorite destination and this is a really good itinerary. The overnight in Istanbul is amazing.

 

I don't know what you want to know about, but I'll give you a brief rundown of what we did.

 

In Athens, you don't need to do that long ship tour. We just hired a cab right off the ship and had them take us to the Acropolis. Make sure you leave the ship first thing to avoid the crowds. We were among the first off the ship and the Acropolis was lovely - no crowds anywhere. But by the time we left, there were long lines to buy tickets. After we finished there, we used our iPhone maps and walked to The Plaka and had lunch. We then caught a cab back to the ship. Athens is ugly....really no reason to spend a lot of time there. We saw just the right amount of the city and and were only off the ship about 5 hours.

 

For Istanbul, we took the ship provided shuttle into town and walked through some of the souks and then we used our iPhone to guide us to the different sites we wanted to see. We had lunch in town and then took the shuttle back to the ship in the late afternoon. That night, we hired a cab to take us to a Rick Steves' recommended restaurant and then walked through Taksim Square and hit up a couple of gay bars. We got back to the ship around 1am. Istanbul is really beautiful. The ship docks right in the city and the "Call to Prayer" is blasted over the city every few hours. It's creepy, but beautiful at the same time - especially eerie when you hear it at 3am.

 

For Kusadasi, I definitely recommend taking the ship's tour to Ephesus or hiring a private guide. It gets very crowded and hot and frustrating and a guide can get you to the front of the line. We did the ship tour. You have to do Ephesus. It is really incredible. Some of the most intact ancient ruins anywhere.

 

In Mykonos we rented mopeds and drove to Super Paradise Beach, which is the "gay" beach, although it's more mainstream these days. Mykonos is beautiful!! You need to do the beach here, as it's really the only port on this cruise that offers great beaches. But also leave a few hours to wander the streets of Mykonos town. It's the quintessential Greek town. Long windy alleyways, white-washed buildings with blue shutters, great food, great people.

 

Santorini is the only city built on the caldera of a volcano. Really cool. Years ago this volcano erupted, and the crater filled with water. The ships anchor in the crater and you tender to shore. Once ashore, you either walk, ride a donkey or take the tram up to the town. It's better to be onshore at sunset as that is what Santorini is famous for. We just wandered for a couple of hours and had a nice dinner before going back to the ship.

 

In Naples, avoid everything about the city. It is dirty and dangerous. One of the worst places I have seen. Instead go to Capri, the Amalfi Coast or Pompeii. We hired a private guide and tried to do the Amalfi Coast AND Pompeii. Unfortunately it was very rushed. We didn't get nearly as much time in Pompeii as needed. It is doable, but rushed. Both places deserve a full day visit. If you don't think you'll be back, do both. But we usually visit Europe once a year, so we know we'll be able to go back and see both places.

 

If you have any other questions, let me know. I was also on the Reflection inaugural voyage last fall, so I can help you out on questions about the ship too. Have fun planning!!

 

 

 

 

Michael

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Thank you so much, Michael, for your advice.

 

In Santorini, we are thinking about the ship's tour - only because we tender and have heard from other passengers that it is better to get off the ship early that way. Wed on't arrive until 2 pm. I think the excursion we are looking at is about $75 each and goes to Oii (sp?), to a winery, and back to Fira. I suppose we will hang out there and then take the cable cars back to the ship after sunset. I think we could do it on our own, but with limited time, I don't really want to waste time renting bikes or waiting on a bus after all the excursions have disembarked.

 

Do you remember how much the taxi was to the Acropolis? I think the tour - including admission - to the Acropolis is about $80 pp. It is a 7 hour excursion which includes about 3 hours of free time for shopping or sightseeing on our own.

 

We plan to explore on our own in Mykonos.

 

Your advice about Naples is helpful. I really want to see the Amalfi Coast. John wants to see Pompeii. We will probably try to do both. There is a tour that takes the Ferry back from Sorrento to Naples which cuts down on some travel time. On the other hand, the ship excursion does the Amalfi coast by boat during the first part of the day.

 

We plan to do Instanbal on our own. Interesting that you went out at night. I really never considered that. It was safe and easy to get back to the ship?

 

I have never been enthused about Ephesus but I suppose I should take advantage of it while there.

 

We do have significant shipboard credit thanks to promotions from our TA and Celebrity so we will try to use that up on ship excursions until it runs out.

 

Thanks again for your suggestions. I am sure the other guys who posted here will find it useful information as well!

 

This is our second cruise on Celebrity. We are pretty loyal Princess guys. The only thing I dread about Celebrity is no self-service laundry. Being away for about 3 weeks, the cost of sending laundry out to keep luggage manageable is a bit daunting. (We are staying another five days in Rome after the cruise.)

 

Andy

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Andy,

 

Once you try this ship - it looks like you haven't been on a Solstice-Class ship yet - you won't want to go back to Princess. It is so superior to anything else sailing right now. It's as high-end and sophisticated as you can get, without going on the ultra premium luxury lines. The lack of announcements, ice martini bar, lawn club, Solarium. It's amazing. We don't have any upcoming cruises on this class of ship unfortunately, due to itinerary. Hopefully we can sneak one in in 2014.

 

We, too, were in Santorini from 2pm until 10pm. The tour you are interested in sounds great. Hopefully they will have an opportunity for you to view the sunset. When you are back on the ship in evening, you can do a wine & tapas picnic on the lawn - amazing when the ship is anchored in Santorini.

 

I don't recall how much the cab fare was in Athens, as we joined another couple who we met onboard. We try to avoid ship excursions as much as possible. We don't like waiting around for all the people on walkers and hooked up to oxygen to return to the bus lol There is no reason to be in Athens for 7 hours, IMO. But 80 bucks isn't a bad price. Just make sure you get to have lunch out in the Plaka. It's lovely.

 

Istanbul is as safe as any other big city. Just use caution as you would anywhere else. I really recommend getting out and enjoying the nightlife. We are not late night or bar people, but we really enjoy taking advantage of overnight ship port calls, as they are so rare.

 

As far as ruins go, I really prefer Pompeii to Ephesus. But I highly suggest seeing both. For me, seeing the body casts of the Pompeii victims gives it an edge over Ephesus. If you don't do Ephesus, you can wander around Kusadasi, but there isn't much there other than aggressive shopkeepers and some little cafes. We've been to Kusadasi twice - the first time we went to Ephesus, the second time we just hung out in Kusadasi and found a nice restaurant.

 

I really wish the ship would do an overnight in Naples, because Amalfi and Pompeii each deserve full days on their own.

 

Tip for embarkation day - skip eating at the Oceanview Cafe, which is where the staff will suggest you go. It's a madhouse on the first day. Pay the $5 cover for Bistro on 5. No one really knows about it and it's quiet and excellent food. It took us 2 Celebrity cruises before we realized it was open on the first day. It's a much better way to start the cruise.

 

 

 

Michael

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Thank you for the detailed information. We appreciate it and are considering what we want to do.

 

Have you had luck with getting a group together from the boards on other trips before? My concern is that we become part of a group that dissolves the closer we get to tour time, leaving each remaining person a larger share of the cost.

 

While we haven't decided for sure, we are leaning towards a ship excursion for Athens that spends 6.5 hours at the Acropolis with a guide and remaining time for exploration on our own. While including Corith would be nice, I don't know that I want to spend that long on the road. I understand that it would be a good 2 hours round trip which does cut down on exploration time.

 

We are thinking about doing Instanbul on our own since we are there so long. I've read others' accounts of their DIY explorations and it seems that much of the city is easily accessible.

 

As far as the Ephesus day, are you using 'Pride Travel'? I have to do more research to see what is important to see here.

 

For Naples, we want to see as much as possible. There isn't enough time! This will be the last day :( We want to see the Amalfi coast as well as Pompeii. I want to see some of the postcard towns like Postano and Amalfi. One nice thing about the ship excursion is that the Amalfi coast is explored by boat before going to Pompeii. I note that AP Tours also has group tours (with Pompeii guide) similar to the private one you described for 80 euro. I also like the idea of the ferry back to the ship.

 

For Mykonos, we will probably expore the town and maybe go to a beach - if I get into beach shape by then :eek:

 

We are staying in Rome for 5 more days after the cruise so we will still have more exploration to do and I don't want to get burnt out on history.

 

Thanks and hopefully we will be in touch once we get our things finalized. Please keep us up to date on the group arrangements if they change.

 

 

Hi - Yes, on past cruises we have had luck with being part of group excursions. I know, you do take some risk, but from what I have read in other posts the positives seem to outweight the negatives.

 

I think the Naples tour we have described would meet what you are looking for. I ask APTours about the 80 Euro group tour and they say that is certainly an option, but recommend the Private Tour as you can do whatever you want, and also get off in Sorrento and take the ferry back. So to us, this seems like the best as we would like to see the towns of Positano and Almalfi as well as they say it is really beautiful and very important is we see the coast from the water too, so that's why Itinierary 2 is what we want to do that includes that party. They will drop you in Sorrento and you can take the ferry back on the group tour as well, but they won't reduce the price unless you are on the private tour.

 

I do have others wanting in on Athens/Corinth, so if you guys feel that's not for you, please let me know and I will pass it on to others. I have friends that took this tour and going on their recommendation, they said it was the best of their trip, but I know everyone has their own ideas of what they would like to see and do, naturally.

 

Yes, for both Istanbul and Kusadasi we are using Pride Travel. Here are those details. There could be a slight reduction on the price, depending on what tour(s) you join. For these tours in Turkey, the three of us are content with how it is booked, but if you want to join, that's totally fine, but we think we will keep Istanbul and Kusadasi just a very small group.

 

Request 1 :Istanbul Tour #3-Full Day Classic Byzantine and Ottoman Relics-PRIVATE

Date :May 31-2013

http://www.turkey-gay-travel.com/dailytours1.html

Private Istanbul tour with gay/gay friendly experienced tour guides.

Tour covers: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Hippodrome area, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar.

Closed: Hagia Sophia on Mondays, Topkapi on Tuesdays, can be replaced with Underground Cistern; Grand Bazaar on Sundays replaced with Arasta Bazaar

Departure: 09:00 am, returning by 16:00 pm.

Tour time: 7-8 hours approximately

Pricing: Private tour prices change depending on total number of participants

3 x 65 = 195 Euro for 3 peoplePrice includes: Lunch in a nice local restaurant (except drinks). Private English speaking experienced & licensed tour guide. All entrance fees for museums. Two way private transfer with new model air-conditioned cars/minivans from Istanbul port.

-----------------------------

Request 2 :Kusadasi Tour #2-Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary Tour -PRIVATE

Date :June 02-2013

http://www.turkey-gay-travel.com/dailytours2.html

Ephesus - (Efes) Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeon, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The Theater had seating for 25,000, was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival.

House of the Virgin Mary- The Vatican has recognized this small house in the Solmissos Mountains as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A small shrine dedicated to St. Mary was found when the ruins of the house were first discovered. Lastly visited by Pope Benedict in his 2007 Turkey visit.

What you see along the way: From Kusadasi, you travel north to St. John’s Basilica, passing the Byzantine fortress at Selcuk and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Ephesus Open Museum then up to the House of Virgin Mary located in Bulbul Mountain. After the visit head for the upper gate of Ephesus. By the end of touring Ephesus, return to Kusadasi.

 

Departure: 10:30 am, returning around 18:00 o'clock (from Kusadasi port)

Price. 3 x 85 = 255 Euro for 3 people

Price includes: Lunch in a nice local restaurant (except drinks). Private English speaking experienced & licensed tour guide. All entrance fees for museums. Two way private transfer with new model air-conditioned cars/minivans from Kusadasi port

PS: Private tour prices change depending on total number of participants

 

 

 

 

Please let us know either way for Athens, Naples, Istanbul and Kusdasi. Whether it be a yes, no or you need a bit more time to ponder! Then I just know where we all stand and can communicate to others.

 

Thanks!!

Sean

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I'm not on this cruise, but I did the exact same itinerary on the Equinox. If you have any questions about the ports, let me know. It's an amazing itinerary! I'd love to revisit it next year!

 

 

 

Michael

 

 

Hi Michael - thanks so much for all your tips!! Certainly things to consider there. Much appreciated!

 

Sean

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Sean - Thanks for the info.

 

You have others interested in the Athens/Corinth trip so please feel free to include them. We aren't ready to commit to that excursion just yet and don't want to keep others from it.

 

Thanks for the offer to let us join the other tours as well. We will ponder Turkey, Ephesus, and Amalfi coast and will let you know soon which we might want to join. However we don't want to intrude on anything you had planned as your small group.

 

In any case, we look forward to running in to you on the ship.

 

Have a great week!

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Hey Andy - Thanks for your prompt response. Please note though you aren't intruding on our Turkey tours. If once you look at what is offered and figure out what you want to see, if you think you want to join us on what we have booked already in either or both cities, please do. It's no problem at all and no time constraint to say yes or no.

 

Regarding Athens/Corinth, yes, I will let the other couple know that space is now free.

 

Hope you have a great week too!

 

Chat with you soon.

 

Sean

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